Benefits of Email Marketing

Are you cashing in on the benefits of email marketing, or do you think it’s not worth the effort?

If you’re not one of the many businesses who are reaping the benefits of email marketing campaigns perhaps this post will help you to see what you can get out of good email marketing.

Did you know that email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing techniques? It is also the most preferred method of contact for many people. According toMarketing Sherpa, 60% of people prefer to receive marketing promotions through email. That’s a pretty strong motive for getting your email marketing up and running, don’t you agree?

Think about it – how many people do you know who don’t have an email address? Now think about the promotional emails that flood your own inbox every day. Granted, it can be annoying at times, but them something catches your eye; you read it, click through to the website and connect – job done!

Of course you can’t get any of the benefits of email marketing without first having an email database to send it to. Most companies will have their customers email addresses; it’s just about gathering them into one document and uploading to your email marketing platform. At Current Content we use Mailchimp, one of the biggest in the world. A big plus here is their FREE plan for up to 2000 email addresses and up to 12000 emails sent per month.

The most effective way to get the benefits of email marketing is to divide your database into segments – not all of your customers may be interested in the same products or information. By targeting your emails to specific audiences you are likely to see a greater response.

Here’s an example showing the benefits of email marketing

We use this example in our FREE Download on Understanding the value of online content and having a Content Refresh Package.

A gym & fitness centre has members male and female across a wide age range, each with different goals that drive them to exercise numerous days a week.

You have all their email addresses, gathered when they signed up to membership and receiving your emails. Now create your lists – by age bracket, specific interests like Pilates, Spinning, and Weight Training etc. Sending out informative emails to the different lists can help to keep current members focused when they might otherwise have lost interest. Things like a discounted membership or a free class can inspire lapsed members to renew… you get the idea.

Can you see how adaptable your email marketing can be?

You can develop an email marketing strategy to target many areas – they could be to existing customers with a special offer, or to a new target market where you could put a three-step strategy in place; 1. Catch their attention, 2. Feed them more information, 3. Tempt them with a strong call to action. You can target the local market with an email that resonates with them, or go global if your business can offer solutions worldwide.

Use email marketing to give solutions to the readers’ pain and frustrations – don’t just sell, sell, sell, that’s a sure way for your emails to end up in the trash!

Building relationships is another plus when it comes to the benefits of email marketing.

There is more than one way to sell. Sending out consistent quality emails will help to build loyalty in your brand and trust in your company. With email marketing you are speaking to people directly into their inbox at a time that suits them. Granted, they may not read every email, but they will recognise your brand which will be the trigger when they do need your product or service.

Your biggest asset in your business is your knowledge. Sharing it through your email marketing will build credibility and promote you and your company as experts in your industry.

Test the market

To get maximum benefits of email marketing you need to test different formats to find out which your audiences prefer. Some may only be interested in big discounts or big news, while others will get more out of frequent emails that give tips and advice with links to blog posts on your website.

It is as important to check the statistics on your email marketing campaigns as it is to send the emails themselves. Taking action on the results will lead to greater benefits of email marketing.

Something worth remembering is that email by its very nature encourages us to take action – reply, forward, click to read more, click to purchase; even delete – we all tend to do something with an email.